The Vice-Chairman of All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), Avinash S. Pant, has expressed concern over the level of employability of graduates passing out of colleges every year.
Speaking at the first Graduation Day of Anna University Regional Centre here on Saturday, he said that there must be a strategy in place to improve the employability of graduates. “AICTE is following certain steps in this regard. The National Vocational Education Qualification Programme for students of technical institutions is aimed at producing skilled manpower. By the year 2020, we hope to have the best possible skill-sets among our graduates,” he said.
Dr. Pant urged students to stay away from negative influences and bad habits. He advised them to stay focused and remain positive, adding it was only the attitude that ultimately contributed to success. “The demographic advantage that India enjoys should be fully tapped. But some recent incidents across the country are disturbing,” he added.
In great demand
He said that even though India’s higher education institutions did not figure in the world’s top 200 list, Indian students were in great demand abroad. “Foreign countries recognise the merit of Indian students. In our colleges and universities, the practice of teaching from textbooks has to change,” he observed.
Dr. Pant said India needed to make its presence felt in the area of research and development. Emphasising the importance of translating research into patents, he said that reforms in curriculum and examinations would improve standards.
He presented degrees to graduates in the presence of P. Kaliraj, Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, Chennai. K. Sivakumar, Regional Director of Anna University’s Madurai Regional Centre, and S. Sivanesan, Registrar, spoke.
